Colombia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will press for action in the Council of Ministers to encourage the Colombian Government to respect human rights and international humanitarian law; and if he will make a statement. [127105]

The Council of Ministers took such action in their Conclusions in December 2002. We work closely with our EU Partners on Colombia and human rights. The need to respect human rights and international law was reiterated in the Chairperson's Statement on the Human Rights Situation in Colombia at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in April. The EU played a substantive role in the drafting of the Statement.

In July EU member states attended the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia. The EU adhered fully to the London Declaration following the meeting, which again made clear the importance of human rights and international humanitarian law.